US asked to trace bank account of Abu ransom ‘beneficiary’

The Philippine government asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to trace the bank accounts of a Filipino official in the United States who reportedly profited from the ransom payments to Abu Sayyaf bandits for the release of foreign hostages.

Acting Justice Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez said the Department of Justice (DOJ) made the request to the FBI to complete its report on the investigation into the alleged collusion between the military and the bandit group.

"We are waiting for feedback that will come from our contact person in the US," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez, however, refused to identify the official but she said the person was believed to have a hand in the ransom payment for American missionary Gracia Burnham and other foreigners taken hostage by the bandits.

The DOJ has yet to release its findings into the supposed collusion between officials and the bandits as exposed by Burnham in her book "In the Presence of My Enemies."

Burnham, whose husband Martin and Filipina nurse Edibora Yap were killed during a rescue mission by the military in June 2002, narrated how she came to learn of the collusion between the bandits and some government officials during her captivity.

Burnham’s revelations triggered a massive investigation by the government over her claims which were vehemently denied by the military.

Gutierrez earlier disclosed that criminal charges can be lodged against military officials and other individuals she refused to identify in the initial findings on the collusion.

"The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether there was collusion between the Abu Sayyaf and the military in ransom payments, We will have something to say about that," Gutierrez said.

She said the report will also include its findings of allegations that the military supplied food and ammunition to the Abu Sayyaf and the $300,000 initial ransom payment for the release of the Burnhams went missing.

Burnham wrote in her book that the military was supplying weaponry and food for the group. She wrote that in January 2002, their food supply during her captivity was plentiful for "a most unusual reason."